The Commercial Appeal

These are the athletes to watch at Spring Fling

- JIM WEBER / THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL

BASEBALL Austin Baskin, Covington, Jr.

Memphis commitment and Class AA Mr. Baseball finalist hit .400 with six home runs and 40 RBIs while also picking up three wins on the mound.

Drew Benefield, Siegel, Sr.

Louisville signee and Class AAA Mr. Baseball finalist is hitting .458 with 24 extra-base hits, including eight home runs, 33 RBIs and 44 runs.

John Bolton, MUS, Sr.

Division IIAA Mr. Baseball finalist hit .352 while striking out just nine times all season.

Class AA Mr. Baseball finalist is hitting .575 with a 1.142 slugging percentage, 15 home runs and 62 RBIs.

Tate Kolwyck, Arlington, Sr.

Vanderbilt signee and one of only three quarterbac­ks in TSSAA history to throw for 10,000 yards is hitting .447 with six home runs.

Alex Langford, Tipton-Rosemark, Sr.

Arkansas-Little Rock signee hit .485 with 29 RBIs while striking out just six times during the regular season.

Will McCall, Columbia Acad., Sr.

Class A Mr. Baseball finalist is hitting .427 with two home runs and 28 RBIs.

Columbia State signee has posted an 8-3 record with 89 strikeouts while also hitting .403 with 13 home runs, 32 RBIs and 22 stolen bases.

Raleigh Odle, Riverside, Sr. Caleb Pearson, Brentwood, Sr.

Tennessee signee has posted a 9-0 record with a 0.46 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 45 1/3 innings for the defending state champion Bruins

Elijah Pleasants, Rossview, Sr.

Tennessee signee is hitting .416 with six home runs, 21 doubles and 52 RBIs. He’s also posted a 5-4 record on the mound with 70 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings.

Ole Miss commitment is hitting .446 with 33 RBIs, nine doubles and three triples for the Division II-A semifinali­st Bruins.

Division II-A Mr. Baseball finalist and Kentucky commitment has posted a 1.14 ERA with 78 strikeouts in 55 innings.

Cade Sammons, USJ, Jr. Jacob Tate, CAK, Jr. Ryan Weathers, Loretto, Sr.

Vanderbilt signee went 8-0 with a 0.15 ERA, 92 strikeouts and just seven walks in 46 1/3 innings. He also hit .434 with two home runs and 17 RBIs.

SOCCER Parker Allen, Houston, Jr.

Allen, who missed much of the season with a broken foot, scored two goals in the Mustangs’ 6-1 sectional win over Clarksvill­e.

Garrett Beam, CPA, Sr.

Beam boasts a 0.411 goals-against average and has 13 shutouts on the season.

Gregory Brannick, Lausanne, Sr.

Brannick scored 11 goals and had 11 assists for the defending Division II-A champion Lynx.

Cameron Carroll, Rossview, Jr.

has 26 goals and 11 assists. Carroll

Atakelti Camp, Sr. SOFTBALL Gebregzabh­er, Collin Lewis, Bearden, Jr. Trey Thomas, MUS, Sr. Allison Farr, Powell, Jr. Station

Memphis signee has scored 11 goals and provided six assists for the defending Class AAA champion Bison.

Douglas Kranz, Christian Brothers, Jr.

Kranz has scored two goals and provided seven assists for the Purple Wave, who haven’t lost since April 6.

First-year starter for the Bulldogs has scored 25 goals and provided 11 assists after not tallying a single point through four matches.

Tristan Lowery, Lexington, Kennedy Cowden, Powell, Sr. Sierra Hucklebee, Gibbs, Sr. Maddie Neal, Gibson Co., Sr. Brooke Suddath, Cascade, Jr. Sr.

Christian Brothers signee has scored 47 goals and provided 15 assists.

Yanike Mashimabi, Stratford, So.

Mashimabi has scored a team-leading 17 goals, helping lead the Spartans to their first state tournament appearance in program history.

Thomas anchors an Owls back line that has posted shutouts in two of the last three matches.

J.P. Elyze-Vital, Greenevill­e, Sr.

Elyze-Vital has tallied more than 20 goals and 10 assists for the defending state champion Greene Devils.

Shewit Worton, Grace Christian, 8th

Worton has scored a team-leading 25 goals and provided nine assists.

Alyssa Arden, White House Heritage, Sr.

Tennessee Tech signee is 25-1 with a 0.96 ERA and 291 strikeouts. She is hitting .602 with 14 home runs and 60 RBIs.

Kentucky signee is hitting .426 with 57 runs, 41 RBIs and 45 stolen bases.

Hannah Koenig, Brentwood, Sr.

Louisiana Tech signee is 28-6 with more than 260 strikeouts and three no-hitters. She is also hitting .488 from the leadoff spot.

ETSU commitment has tallied 180 strikeouts with a 1.12 ERA in 168 2/3 innings.

Megan Hodum, McNairy Central, So.

Liberty commitment is hitting .516 with 12 RBIs, three doubles and three triples.

District 3-AA MVP and Lincoln Memorial signee is hitting .532 with 62 runs and 39 RBIs.

Dyersburg State signee is hitting .530 with 44 hits – 10 doubles – and 38 RBIs.

Gracie Osbron, Henry County, Sr.

Tennessee signee is hitting .560 with six home runs and 38 RBIs.

Suddath is 19-4 with a 0.83 ERA and has struck out 255 batters. She is hitting .442 with nine home runs and has 44 RBIs.

E.C. Taylor, St. Benedict, Jr.

Florida commitment is hitting .556 with eight triples, 37 runs and 17 stolen bases for the Eagles.

Katie Turner, McNairy Central, Sr.

Lipscomb signee has posted a 29-6 record with a 0.92 ERA and more than 400 strikeouts. She’s also hitting .419 with eight home runs, nine doubles and 41 RBIs.

Rachel Whitley, Tipton-Rosemark, Sr.

Last year’s Commercial Appeal Player of the Year is hitting .418 with four home runs and 39 RBIs while also compiling an 11-4 pitching record with a 1.45 ERA.

TENNIS BOYS George Corzine, USN, Jr.

Corzine, the Division II-A Middle Region singles champion, is a three-star prospect according to The Tennis Recruiting Network.

Jack Powell, MUS, Jr.

Powell enters the Division II-AA singles tournament as the top seed from the West Region and will be one of the key players as the Owls go for their 18th team title.

Sai, a five-star prospect and Division II-AA East/Middle singles champion, went 5-0 at No. 1 doubles.

Baylor Sai, MBA, Fr. Benjamin Sidwell, TCA, Jr.

Sidwell, a two-star prospect, teamed up with Cam Presley to win the Region 8 doubles championsh­ip.

Walker Stearns, St. George’s, Fr.

Stearns, a four-star prospect, played in the Division II-A doubles final last year as an eighth-grader and was undefeated this spring in singles play. He’ll be playing doubles with John Kimball at state.

Williams, a three-star prospect, enters the tournament with a 25-2 record in singles.

Harrison Williams, Webb, Sr. Mason Woods, USJ, So.

Woods, a two-star prospect, won the Division II-A West region singles championsh­ip.

GIRLS Julia Adams, Bearden, Sr.

Adams, a five-star Furman signee who’s making her fourth trip to the state tournament, has tallied a 17-0 singles record.

Eesha Gudiseva, St. Mary’s, So.

Gudiseva, a three-star prospect, claimed the Division II-AA West Region title.

Javagal, a four-star prospect, has posted an unbeaten singles record since stepping in for the injured three-time defending champion Somer Henry.

Pretorius, the Division II-A Middle Region champion, has tallied a 20-1 record in singles.

Sinha, a three-star prospect and The Commercial Appeal’s 2017 Player of the Year, has

Hamsa Javagal, Brentwood, Fr. Mia Pretorius, USN, Jr. Sneha Sinha, Colliervil­le, Sr.

focused more on doubles this spring, teaming up with sophomore Romaine Britt.

Lauren Yoon, Webb, Sr.

Yoon, a three-star prospect, enters the Division II-A singles tournament with a 23-2 record.

TRACK BOYS Kevin Davis, TCA, So.

Davis is the No. 2 qualifier in the 200-meter dash and the No. 3 qualifier in the 100-meter dash in the Small Class division. He’s also a member of the Lions’ 4x100-meter relay team.

Collin Jones/Keaton Jones, Houston, Sr.

The twins have alternated finishing first and second in Memphisare­a 800-meter competitio­n. They will compete in the Large Class division.

Kinder, a sophomore, has already won the Large Class decathlon. He also will compete in the pole vault, long jump and high jump.

Jett Kinder, Brentwood, Sr. Jake Renfree, Knoxville Catholic, Jr.

Renfree boasts the fastest 1,600 time (4:08.11) in the state.

Michael Scruggs, Riverdale, Sr.

The UT Martin signee has the fastest time in the 100-meter dash from the Large Class sectionals and is the defending state champion.

Elijah Simmons, Pearl-Cohn, Jr.

Simmons has the best distance among Small Class division qualifiers in the shot put (52-feet-2 and discus (15610).

Josh Sobota, Bearden, Sr.

The Kentucky signee holds state records in shot put (67-3.25) and discus (194-7).

Willington Wright, Hardin Valley, Sr.

Wright, an MTSU signee, enters state with the fastest times in the 200 (21.45) and 400 (47.44). He’s also among the top triple jumpers.

GIRLS Blake Blakemore, Austin-East, So.

Blakemore ran the state’s fastest time this season in the 100-meter dash, clocking a 12.12 at the KIL Championsh­ip.

Jordyn Braswell, Memphis Central, Sr.

The senior swept the Large Class sectional hurdles races and has the top qualifying time in both, clocking 14.10 in the 100 and 43.62 in the 300.

Katherine Coffey, Brentwood, Sr.

Coffey has the best distances for the Large Class in the shot put (43-7) and discus (152-8).

Kirstin Jones, Whitehaven, Breanna Miles, Southwind, So. Rebecca Story, CAK, Sr. Loral Winn, Dresden, Jr. Jr.

Jones owns the top qualifying time in the 100 (11.86) and 200 (24.29), and she’ll also anchor the 400- and 800-meter relays for the three-time defending champion Tigers.

The four-fastest qualifiers in the Large Class 400 are all from Shelby County, and Miles’ time of 55.38 is the best.

Morgan Louderback, Brentwood Academy, Sr.

Louderback has the best distance in the long jump (18-6) and triple jump (38-7 among Division II-AA qualifiers.

Story will be looking to defend last year’s state titles in the 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs. She enters as the top Division II-A qualifier in all three events.

Makayla Transou, South Side, Jr.

Transou, looking for her first state championsh­ip, enters the Large Class' long jump as the No. 1 qualifier with a distance of 18-09.50.

Winn finished in the top three in the 1600-meter run and 800-meter run a season ago. She enters both events as the No. 1 qualifier.

 ??  ?? Houston High School players celebrate their win over Science Hill in the 2015 AAA soccer finals.
Houston High School players celebrate their win over Science Hill in the 2015 AAA soccer finals.

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